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User blog:Supahbadmarine/Actual Alliance Dynamics
Hello everyone! I am here to start an angry rant! ... Well not really. Those of you who have the sixth edition, or were around to see the blog about the Allies Matrix that was produced will probably remember this: http://0-media-cdn.foolz.us/ffuuka/board/tg/image/1337/21/1337214433954.jpg. The abomination you just witnessed is WRONG! It's wrong and don't let GW tell you otherwise! Those with a genuin understanding of 40k Fluff could tell you that this Allies Matrix is a giant sack of bovine refuse, Sadly there are many that are unfamiliar with 40k lore, and thus would be suckered in by this monument to Heresy (and not the good kind either). So I have made this blog to clear things up, and give those who are not yet 40k scholars the real deal on Alliances in our favorite setting. This is probably going to be big, so it probably won't be completely up for a while. Overview Well then, where to start? Ah yes! Perhaps we should go over who the major factions in 40k are, and their genral relationship with one another. So lets start. Here are the big factions that you need to know about: *Imperium of Mankind *Forces of Chaos *Craftworld Eldar *Dark Eldar *Orks *Necrons *Tau Empire *Tyranids Ok. So there are the major factions of Warhammer 40k. There are other factions in 40k, though those aren't quite as important plotwise. Furthermore each ofthose factions have sub-factions that may operate on a slightly different dynamic, and we may go over those later. Anyway take a look at each of the above factions. Something that is important for all 40k noobs to understand is this, each of the factions listed above is fighting with everybody else on the list. There are no permanent alliances between them, there is no big alliance of the good guys (yeah right) versus the bad guys. They all kill each other, and they don't always need a reason to do so. Now that we got that bit out of the way I will go into some factioon specific Alliance dynamics. Tyranids I have decided to start with the Tyranids because their alliance dynamics are simple. As far as who can be their friends, and who can't be there is a simple rule of thumb to follow. Tyranids are always hostile to non-Tyranids. End of story. The Tyranids are a race of biologically engineered bio-killers that are bound to a Hive Mind. The Tyranids have only one motive. Feed, reproduce, evolve. There is no diplomacy, no parley, no quarter asked for and no quarter given. Essentailly they are locust that act on a galactic scale, stripping any planet they come across of all life, and useable resources. The Tyranids don't care about politics, or who is fighting who. In their eyes there is no difference from one non-Tyranid to another. They are all just potential food, and nothing more. So bottom line is this. All other factions are always hostile to the Tyranids, and they do not have allies. No exceptions. Genestealer Cults Genestealer Cults are the only sub-faction of the Tyranids. Interestingly while the Tyranids have a fairly clear cut "Hostile to all" dynamic, the Genestealer Cults can get more complicated. To start off i will explain what a Genestealer is. Genestealers are a particular species of Tyranid Bio-killer. During a Tyranid invasion they can often be seen swiftly moving from victim to victim, rending them into pieces with their razor sharp claws. However their true roll in the Tyranids hunt lies before the primary invasion, and is much more subtle and insidious. The Genestealers wander around the galaxy, separate from the primary Hive Fleets. They do this so that they can infiltrate various worlds, and implant their genetic material in the the gene-pool of the planet they infiltrate. The result is a cult, made up of Genestealers, Hybrids with a combination of Genestealer traits adn those ofthe Species they were born from, mind controlled members of the cult that are usually the non-Genstealer members of the Hybrid's family, and finally the Patriarch, the original Genestealer that started the cult, and has grown powerful due to the psychic bond with the cult called the Brood Mind. No the motives of the Genestealer Cult are fairly straightforward. The cult wants to expand, and they want to gain a position of influence on the planet in which the cult is located. To do this the Cult usually takes a public face, such as a benign organization, a corperation, or even a sect of the religion of the people they have infiltrated. They also take part in conspiracies, such as assasinating opposition to the Cults. In order to achieve this goal the Cults may align themselves with a number of other groups. Generally these factions are planetary in nature. They might work with violent criminal gangs, foul Chaos Cults that work with tme in the name of mutual survival on Imperial worlds, corperations or in some cases legitimate organizations. Many times these allies are unaware of the alien nature of the cult, though sometimes they are. Regardless of this almost all of these groups will usually be ignorant of the cult's true purpose, as will the cult itself in many cases. The true prupose of the cult is to act as a becon for the Tyranid Hive Fleets, and to assist in their consumption of a planet. As the cult grows so dtoo does the Psychic powers of its Patriarch. As the Patriarch power grows, its mind begins to shine in the Warp as a Psychic becon. The Hive Flets lock on to these becons, because the brighter the becon, the larger the cult, and the presence of a large Genstealer Cult is proof of a well populated planet for the Tyranids to feast on. Furthermore once the Hive Fleet comes within range of the planet the Hive Mind takes over the cult's Brood Mind. The Cult then begins large scale uprisings on the planet, and sabotgae of the planet's defenses. This allows the Tyranids to more easily take the world. Given the function of the Genestealer cults it is unlikely that anyone that truly understands their purpose would ally with them unless destruction of the planet in question at Tyranid claws was their ultimate goal. Chaos The first hing that people need to understand about Chaos is that it is not some evil religion. a lot of 40k newbies make that mistake, and it's understandable. They see word like "Gods" and "Worshippers", and they naturally assume that Chaos works like some Satanic cult, where bad people gather to worship bad deities. Rather than look at it like a religion, it is better to look at Chaos as a spiritual plague with a will of its own. The Chaos Gods desire the souls fo all mortals, and they will use whatever tools are at their disposal to get them. Chaos can subtly worm its way into the hearts, and minds of even the pure of heart. That is because Chaos does not wait for the wicked to seek it out, but rather delves deep into the hearts of all beings, and brings out their inner darkness, whether done in a dramatic fashion, or a subtle one. So always remember that Chaos, and the entities associated with it want your soul, and they don't care if you don't want ot give it to them. With that out of the way we can go into the dynamics of Chaos alliances. To start off with you need to understand the politics within the faction itself. Chaos is a harsh meritocracy where the strong and cunning grow in power, and the weak are enslaved to the will of the strong. Each Champion of Chaos seeks to reach ever greater heights, and many view themselves as gods in the flesh. As such there is quite alot of ego in Chaos, and constant competition. The forces of Chaos war amongst themselves almost as much as they war against the other factions of 40k. Their social structure makes them very similar to the Orks and the Dark Eldar, who are also the most likely to work with Chaos. Given the constant infighting between the Chaos Gods, and the brutallity and ambition of the various Warlords that dominate Chaos, alliances can be tricky. A Chaos Lord, or Greater Daemon is unlikely to work with others unless they feel the alliance benefits them. Sometimes Chaos forces will unite over a common cause, like the Black Crusades. When working with other races it will more likely be for an individual Lord's personal benefit. Regradless of the reason alliances with Chaos, or between Chaos factions tend to be temporary. Most Chaos Lords, or Daemons are simply too arrogant or insane to share power for very long. Just remeber this. The Chaos Gods are always warring amongst themselves, and their struggle is reflected by their followers. Furthermore each of the Legions and Warbands of Chaos are fighing one another for glory, power and the favor of the gods. Even within a single Warband each member hopes to reign supreme someday, and they compete and fight with their comrades to achieve their dreams. The two factions that are most likely to work with the forces of Chaos are the Orks and Dark Eldar. The Orks and Dark Eldar favor systems where the strong and cunning rule with impunity over the weak. Thus they have much in common with the Forces of Chaos. However their similarity also causes tension. Just like the Forces of Chaos, the Orks and Dark Eldar can be counted on to put their own profit before that of the group. The Orks are also brutal and unpredictable, and may turn on their allies just for the sake of a good fight. As a result most alliances between these factions usually end in one, or both sides turning on one another. The Forces of Chaos can also occasionally ally with Necrons. However they are the least likely of all the potential allies that Chaos factions can take. Chaos forces can not ally with the Tyranids, Imperium, Tau or Eldar under any circumstances. The Tyranids can not become allies because they view all non-Tyranids as food without exception. The Imperium and Chaos have been arch-enemies for a long time. The Imperium views Daemons as perhaps the most dangerous of all their foes, and they have a special hatred for traitors that usually surpasses even their hatred for Xenos. The Eldar Lost their empire because of Chaos (specifically Slaanesh), and they view Chaos as their ultimate enemy, and fear that Chaos may corrupt their souls, dragging them closer to their looming demise. The core ideals of Chaos directly oppose the Tau's dogma, the Greater Good. The Tau view Chaos followers as madmen, and uncompatible with the Greater Good, and thus foes thaty must be wiped out. None of these factions would fight alongside Chaos. The best you could get was a momentary cease fire in the face of some massive threat, and even that much is unlikely. Khorne Slaanesh Tzeentch Nurgle Dark Eldar Orks Necrons Imperium Eldar Tau Category:Blog posts